Costa Cruises has confirmed that it is significantly expanding its presence in the Middle East cruise market out of Dubai, with its cruise liner Costa Mediterranea due to be homeported in Dubai for the coming 2017/18 winter cruise season.

Costa Cruises will completed a bumper cruise season out of Dubai in March, sending its ‘neo collection’ cruise ship Costa neoRiviera back to the Mediterranean after sailing a number of roundtrip Dubai cruises from November, 2016, during which she mostly sailed at capacity.

Costa Mediterranea is almost twice the size of neoRiviera in terms of passenger capacity and tonnage and will sail an identical itinerary from December 15th until March 10th, when she will depart on a 19 night repositioning cruise to Savona, Italy.

During the 2017/18 Arabian Gulf cruise season Costa Mediterranea will sail 25 roundtrip Dubai to Dubai cruises, visiting Muscat, Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi, in addition to spending a night in port at the Dubai Cruise Terminal at the beginning and end of the cruise.

Making Costa Cruises’ Middle East cruise itineraries more accessible for UAE and other GCC residents is the fact that the cruise can be booked for just 5 nights as well, with the Dubai overnight stays either end of the cruise excluded.

This option, available on all neoRiviera and Costa Mediterranea’s Dubai cruise departures, makes the cruise cheaper, but also more feasible for expats short of time off work for a longer cruise.

Costa Cruises describe Costa Mediterranea as a palace at sea, her design is inspired by the style of Italy’s historic palaces with public spaces filled with works of art.

The Argentieri Restaurant alone is embellished with 139 artistic pieces of silverware. She has 1,057 cabins in total, including: 660 with a private balcony, and 58 suites, all with private balcony.

She has four restaurants, 12 bars and a wellness centre on two levels, with gym, treatment rooms, sauna and Turkish bath, and a UVA-ray solarium.

Up on the pool deck, there are four Jacuzzis and four pools (one of which can be made indoor with a retractable cover). Around the lido deck there is also a jogging track and further aft she features a multipurpose sports pitch.

In other words, what Costa Cruises is saying to MSC Cruises is: bring it. MSC Cruises also upped their commitment to the Middle East cruise market this year with the deployment of MSC Splendida also cruising out of Dubai.